


Pretear: The Cherry Blossom Chronicles

by Lady_Isludis



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura, 新白雪姫伝説プリーティア | Shin Shirayuki-hime Densetsu Prétear | Prétear - The New Legend of Snow White
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 07:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10329275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Isludis/pseuds/Lady_Isludis
Summary: Sakura is off to University and is looking for a job to pay for her living expenses. How funny is it that she'd be attending school in the same hometown as the local Pretear? What about Sakura's own little secret? Even worse, can Kero keep a low profile?





	1. Apartment

**Author's Note:**

> All around there is darkness,  
> Devoid of colour, devoid of life.  
> A single drop of water shall create an echo,  
> and break the unending silence once more.  
> Only then may the force of life return to the world.

A brunette stood outside of a busy train station, taking in her surroundings.

"Wow!" She exclaimed. "So this is Awayuki city!" Her green eyes sparkled with anticipation.

She didn't have much time to gape, as she was already beginning to be jostled by the crowd. She quickly grasped the handle on her rolling suitcase and moved out of the way.

When she had secured herself some breathing room, she rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. She studied it carefully and returned it to her pocket.

The girl would be attending university in this city and would be living in a rented apartment for the duration of her studies. Classes didn't start for another week, during which time she would be free to get settled in. What she really wanted to do was explore and do some shopping! Oh, how she longed for a new purse!

Of course, she also needed to find a part-time job. Her current savings would only be enough for a couple of months.

“Cutting it kind of close, don’t you think?” Her brother had scolded before she left. “You really shouldn’t leave that up to chance.” To be fair, she had been looking for something at the time—albeit unsuccessfully. She needed something that would cover her expenses, but with flexible hours so that she could still attend classes. It was difficult to secure such a position—or any, for that matter—in a far off town, months in advance.

“I’ll find something!” She told herself, determined.

The weather was nice, so she opted to walk to her new place of residence.

On her way, she passed a bulletin board.

"Hey! There are lots of job postings here!" She beamed. "Let's see! There's this, but I don't have a degree. Oh! Maybe this? Hmmm, no. Two years experience required. I can't even do this one, it's full time." She searched the entire board but found more of the same.

Defeated, she let out a sigh and kept walking.

“Well, I’m sure something will turn up if I keep looking!”

Her route took her down a street full of interesting shops and storefronts. She desperately wanted to look inside some of them, but it would have to wait until she could be rid of her baggage. Lugging it around for this long was tiring, though.

Around noon, her stomach began to rumble. Lucky for her, there was a bistro nearby with outdoor patio furniture. Perfect!

“How lovely!” She thought, scooting her suitcase under a table and sitting down.

“Can I get you anything, miss?” A waiter approached her with a menu.

“I’ll have tea to start.” She said. Her stomach rumbled again, loudly this time. She blushed. “Is there anything you recommend?”

“How about the lunch special?” Said the waiter. “Curry noodles with shrimp.”

That set the girl’s mouth watering. She loved noodles and seafood! Curry would be spicy, though. Oh, but she was so hungry! Having her stomach growl like this was embarrassing!

“I’ll have that, thank you.”

The waiter wrote down her order, gave a nod, and disappeared inside. While she waited, she listened to the sound of the wind as it rustled the tree leaves.

“How peaceful.” She thought. “It truly is a perfect day.”

Suddenly, a pocket on her bag started to twitch, nudging her leg. Green eyes widened as she felt the fabric brush against her skin.

“Don’t tell me—”

She looked underneath the table and had to clamp one hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. To anyone else, it would have looked as though a stuffed animal had fallen out of her bag and landed on the ground. The girl knew better.

“K-Kero!?” She hissed. “What are you—”

Just then, another waiter came with her food.

“Um, miss?”

Surprised, she banged her head on the table.

“Ow!”

“Are you alright, miss?” Said the waiter, concern in his voice.

“Oh uh, I’m fine! Hahaha!” The girl laughed nervously. “Something fell out of my bag.”

“If you say so.” He set a plate and a teacup in front of her.

The girl smiled until he walked away, noticing when he glanced back at her. She gave a small wave to reassure him that everything was fine. Apparently satisfied, he returned to his duties.

Everything was not fine.

“Explain.” Said the girl through clenched teeth, eyes scanning the area for potential witnesses.

“It was cramped, I got hungry!” Came a voice.

“Not that!” The girl demanded. “Why are you here?”

“Don’t be like that, Sakura.” Said the voice. “I just missed you is all!”

Sakura frowned. “Stay quiet and stay hidden until I tell you otherwise.”

“At least let me have something to eat?” Kero whined. “I’m starving!”

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. She discretely plucked a shrimp from her noodles and held it under the table. Kero happily accepted the offering, gobbling it up in the blink of an eye.

“Any more?” He pleaded.

“Too many people watching.”

“Fine.” The guardian beast pouted. “Enjoy your meal, then.”

In the end, the noodles and seafood were delicious! Sakura had doubts about consuming spicy food on an empty stomach, but this seemed quite mild. Perhaps she would come back here sometime.

“Was that girl talking to herself?” Said one waiter to the one who had served her.

The young man shrugged in response. “Who knows?”

“Maybe she’s the eccentric type.” The first waiter mused. “She’s kind of cute, don’t you think?”

“Just get back to work.”

Having heard none of this exchange, Sakura paid her bill, making sure to leave a tip. She was still a little bit flustered from Kero’s sudden appearance. She only wanted to make a good impression, but now all she could think about was whether anybody had seen her mumbling to herself—or rather, the stuffed animal under the table.

To be fair, Kero was actually a dear friend of hers. The two of them had met for the first time when Sakura was in elementary school and stumbled upon a magic book in her basement. The book of Clow contained an old deck of cards, each one with its own special power, though Sakura did not know that at the time. She unwittingly set those cards loose by breaking the magic seal that kept their powers dormant. Kero had appeared to her then and introduced himself as the guardian beast of the seal.

Now a young adult, Sakura kept all of this a secret from everyone but her best friend Tomoyo, Meiling and Syaoran.

“Syaoran...”

She smiled at the thought.

The two of them were boyfriend and girlfriend now, and they were eagerly making plans to move in together—but first they needed a stable source of income! They agreed that pursuing higher education would help them find better jobs, and set to work applying to their institutions of choice.

That didn’t mean she wouldn’t get lonely without him, but she reassured herself that it was only for a little while, and there would be opportunities to visit one another during holidays and breaks.

Eventually, Sakura reached the apartment complex and was received by a woman who introduced herself as Chitose Hibiya, the building manager.

“You must be Kinomoto Sakura.” Her voice was gentle. Sakura got the impression that she was a sweet person. Hopefully,there would be no need to bother her with any problems.

“Yes Ma’am.” Sakura replied with a nod.

“Well then, right this way!”

Sakura was handed her keys, given a brief tour, and left to get settled.

“Okay Kero, it’s safe to come out now!” She announced.

Like a rocket, the guardian beast shot out of her bag. Sakura caught him by the tail.

“First, we’re going to have a little talk about ground rules.” She explained. “I don’t want a repeat of that incident at the bistro.”

“Okay—Ow!—Okay!” Kero cried. “I’ll behave, just please stop pinching!”

“I wonder what I should have for dinner tonight.” Sakura mused. “It’s still early, I could make a shopping list.”

“Don’t forget the sweets!” Kero chirped excitedly.

“There isn’t enough money to eat sweets all the time, Kero.” Sakura scolded. “I’ll make you a deal: you behave yourself, and I’ll see if there’s room in the budget for treats every now and then. Okay?”

Kero groaned. “Not fair!”

“It’s not the end of the world.” She rolled her eyes. “Quit being so dramatic.”

Sakura put together a short list of things she would need right away, and some that could wait until later in the week.

The apartment came with a small refrigerator and hot plate. Sakura had purchased a small electric kettle ahead of time, but what she really needed were pots, pans, and utensils. She had resigned to the fact that whatever meals she prepared would have to be cheap; at least until she found a job.

It wasn’t like she didn’t know her way around a kitchen. While she could stand to learn a few new recipes, she had prepared meals for her father and brother on a number of occasions! Whatever she made was well plated, even if it was something simple like pancakes or omelet.

“Will it be enough?” She wondered aloud. “Instant noodles should be okay for one night, but...”

She frowned. A proper diet was essential to maintaining the energy levels required for work and study, and she knew it. While athletic, a steady diet of high sodium instant meals would begin to affect her figure, as well as her performance.

“Hey! When are you going shopping? I’m starving!” Kero whined.

“Already!?”

“I only had that one shrimp you gave me from earlier!”

“Ugh! Alright! I’m going now!”

Locking the door behind her, Sakura left Kero by himself and headed out.

“Flour, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, salt—” She mumbled to herself, reading off the contents of her list as she scanned the aisles of the grocery store. “Maple syrup would be nice with pancakes. Ah, but I need a frying pan!”

While distracted, she bumped into a tall man with dark hair.

“Ah! Excuse me!” She babbled.

“Be more careful.” Said the man. He turned and walked away. Sakura was stunned.

“Rude.” She pouted and continued with her shopping.

“Here.” She said to Kero when she arrived back at the apartment, handing him a package of instant beef-flavour noodles. “I’m too tired to cook, follow the directions on the cup.”

“There’s nothing to eat this with.” He complained. Sakura didn’t care. She was too busy unpacking and getting ready for bed. If she knew Kero he would slurp the noodles straight from the cup.

That night, Sakura had a strange dream.

She was standing by herself in a field. The sun was high in the sky, and a cool breeze played with her hair.

She sighed, content.

“It’s beautiful here.” She observed.

Suddenly, the air turned cold, and snow began to fall. She could see her breath now.

A snowflake drifted down from the sky into her waiting hand. She held it close to her face and admired its intricate detail. Many more flakes followed. Each one was a cool kiss on her bare arms.

The dream took a dramatic turn when the flake she held in her hand turned black and melted, emitting a steamy hiss. She yanked her hand away with a gasp, as though she’d been scalded.

“What in the—”

One by one, the other snowflakes all began to turn black and melt. As they did, they all sounded like water droplets hitting a hot pan.

“Are they—burning!?”


	2. Black Snow

The aroma of fresh pancakes filled Sakura’s new apartment.

“You seem tired.” Kero commented as he ate.

Sakura yawned. “I had strange dreams last night.”

“Oh?” The guardian beast’s ears perked up. “What about?”

“It started out kind of nice.” Sakura began. “It was sunny and warm.” She paused, concern appearing on her face as she thought about the snow. “Then the weather turned cold very quickly.”

Kero looked thoughtful.

“It started snowing.” Sakura continued. “But the snowflakes all started melting.”

“That doesn’t sound very strange.”

“Maybe melting isn’t the right word.” Sakura thought aloud. “They turned black like charcoal and burned away.”

“Burning snow?” Kero frowned. “Ominous.”

“You don’t think it means something, do you?”

The guardian beast appeared to be thinking hard about what Sakura had just told him. “I’m not sure.” He said. “But just in case—”

He drifted across the room on his tiny wings and began to rummage through Sakura’s half-unpacked suitcase.

“What are you looking for in there?” Sakura probed, suspicious.

“Ta da!” Kero exclaimed. “I know we haven’t needed this in some time, but it’s always better to be prepared.” He produced a familiar looking book.

“Expect the unexpected.” Sakura hummed. Kero had always stressed the importance of those words. “Of course!”

“The magic of the Clow may as well be the tip of the iceberg.” Kero explained. “Sakura, there’s a possibility that you may encounter other types of magic, and other magic users unrelated to Clow.”

“Other magic users?” Sakura thought about that. She had known for some time that Syaoran had magical powers, but she hadn’t really given much thought to the existence of completely new forms of magic. Was there more out there for her to learn, even after mastering the cards?

“Are you going to eat the rest of your pancakes?” Kero asked. “It would be a shame to let those get cold.”

“What other kinds of magic are there?” Sakura thought as she chewed. As Kero had pointed out the previous night, there were no forks or eating utensils, so she had been pulling pancakes apart with her fingers. She’d left the syrup in favour of having some money left over after getting the frying pan she’d used to cook breakfast for herself and Kero, otherwise, things would have been far stickier. Still, she washed and dried her hands when she was done.

“I think I might go and look at some of those stores today.” Sakura announced.

“Weren’t you the one complaining about our budget?” Kero nagged.

Sakura pouted angrily. “I have self-control, you know. I can window shop.” She wouldn’t say it aloud, but she was probably almost as tempted by a new purse as Kero was for some pudding.

The weather was just as nice as it had been the previous day, though the air did feel a little bit cooler. While she was here, Sakura would undoubtedly have the opportunity to see what this city looked like as the seasons changed. She tried to picture what the trees would look like bare, and the ground covered in snow.

“Snow...”

She thought about the black snow from her dream, and a chill ran up her spine.

“Is it getting colder?”

Not wanting to think about it, she shook her head and continued walking.

She passed the bistro, and briefly entertained the thought of having tea—just tea, this time.

Once again, she allowed herself to become distracted and bumped into someone.

“Ah! Excuse me!” She apologized profusely. “Oh!”

“You again?” It was the same man from yesterday. “Watch where you’re going!” He snapped.

“Hayate!” Came a female voice. Holding onto the man’s arm was a young woman with short, pixie-like hair. “It was an accident, don’t make a scene.”

“Hmph!” Was the only response Hayate gave.

“Everything’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” The woman reassured. “Have a nice day!” She said with a small wave and a forced smile, then promptly steered “Hayate” towards the bistro. “What’s gotten into you lately?” She hissed.

Sakura sighed.

One thing was for certain, she didn’t want to pay the bistro a visit while the dark haired man was there. His friend seemed nice enough, but still.

“What a jerk.” She thought.

She was distracted when a single snowflake drifted across her field of vision.

“Oh!” She exclaimed. “It seems a bit early for snow.”

She reached out her hand and captured the tiny flake. “So pretty.”

While she was admiring it, the little snowflake suddenly turned black. It ever so gently kissed the palm of her hand, and she felt like she’d been scalded.

“Ah!” She cried out, stumbling backward. “Ow!”

Had her dream really come true?

She hissed as she examined her hand. Definitely a burn mark. She started to panic.

All plans of window shopping were quickly forgotten as she hurried home to talk to Kero. Perhaps the guardian beast would be able to provide some insight as to what had just happened to her.

“Kero!” She announced as she entered the apartment. “My dream came true, look!”

She thrust her burnt palm at him.

“Snow did that!?”

Sakura nodded.

The guardian beast’s expression turned grim as he examined the injury. Granted, it was small, but they both knew that that was nothing to go by,

“I won’t lie to you.” Kero explained. “This is magic, but nothing that I recognize.”

“What should I do?” Sakura was honestly frightened by all of this.

“Stay on your guard.” Kero warned. “I’ve said it many times, and I’m saying it again: expect the unexpected.”

For the next couple of days, Sakura ventured out only when necessary. She overheard countless people talking about how cold it was getting all of a sudden, that their gardens all seemed to be dying away, and the occasional mention of black snowflakes.

“My son burned himself touching one.”

“I’m watering them, but my flowers are still dying. I don’t understand!”

“Is all of this connected to the strange weather?”

“Global warming?”

“Acid rain?”

“Pollution?”

“What’s going on?” Sakura wondered. “Is it something I can fix?”

She was so preoccupied that she bumped into yet another person.

“I’m so sorry!” She cried.

“Not a problem.” Came a melodic voice. Sakura found herself looking into a pair of gentle violet eyes. The man who owned them vaguely resembled Yukito with his silvery hair.

“He’s so handsome.” Sakura noted mentally. “Ah! Am I blushing?”

“Oh look! Is that Sasame?” Came a female voice across the street.

“Might I interest you in a cup of tea, miss?” The man offered suddenly. Sakura nodded absentmindedly, and before she knew it, she had followed him into that same bistro, never taking her eyes off of him for a moment. She hoped that she wouldn’t run into Hayate there, literally or figuratively.

“So, your name is Sasame?” Sakura asked.

The man responded by putting one finger to his lips.

“Let’s keep that our secret, shall we? I’ve tried different disguises but people always seem to recognize me.”

“Are you famous?”

Sasame smiled. “Have you heard of a show called ‘Words Gate?’”

Sakura shook her head. She expected Sasame to look offended, or even disappointed, but he continued to smile his gentle smile.

“Can I get you two something?” A third voice chimed in. Sakura looked up and saw that it was the same waiter who had brought her food that one time. She felt a pang of embarrassment when she remembered hitting her head on the table in front of him. The waiter seemed to recognize her as well. “Welcome back miss.” He greeted, expression unreadable. “Is your head feeling better?”

Sasame suddenly looked at her with concern. Sakura felt her cheeks flushing.

“Oh! I ate lunch here earlier this week.” Sakura scrambled to explain. “I hit my head on the table by accident, but I’m fine now.” She laughed nervously.

Sasame still looked concerned. “If you say so.” He turned to the waiter. “Tea for both of us, please!”

Neither of them said anything for few minutes, and Sakura found a plant across the room to stare at.

“Are you new in town?” Sasame inquired, finally breaking the awkward silence.

Sakura nodded. “I’m attending University here.”

“I see.”

More awkward silence.

The waiter returned with their tea, gave a nod, and disappeared again.

A thought passed through Sakura’s mind.

“May I ask you something? Sasame?”

“Go ahead.”

She was about to speak but was cut short by a commotion outside.

“Kyaaah! That snow is back!” Someone yelled.

“Don’t let it touch you!” Someone else cried. “You’ll get burned!”

Sakura’s stomach flipped. She’d forgotten all about the snow when Sasame had approached her. What she didn’t notice was that Sasame was interested in the incident as well. That one particular waiter happened to be nearby, and the two of them exchanged knowing glances.

“I think I should get going.” Sakura turned to face Sasame again, but he was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a revival of a very old fanfiction project from fanfiction.net. I wanted to write this before tackling another major crossover project.
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4335040/1/Pretear-The-Cherry-Blossom-Chronicles


End file.
